They come from the historic city of Antioch in modern day Turkey. In the 1930's five institutions assembled a team of curators and spent 7 years (1932 - 1939) unearthing and cataloging over 300 floor mosaics. In the end half of the discoveries were left in Turkey. The remaining 150 or so were divided between the following:
- The Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Worcester, MA
- Princeton University
- Harvard University and it's satellite museum at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, and
- The Baltimore Museum of Art
Some years back I was friends with a curator who worked at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Rebecca Molholt. During a visit she took myself and a few others behind the scenes and allowed us to tour pieces of their collection not on display to the public. It was an experience that I treasure and which solidified the history of these works of art in my memory.
The center of the original museum building is a courtyard surrounded by four light filled hallways. The inner walls of these is where you will find the lion-share of the works that are on display. Here are some images i took on this most recent visit. Just a few of the 30 pieces in their collection.
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